The Founder's Trap
The Founder's Trap
Market
Archetype
Mechanical
Natural
Tier
Developing
Trajectory Thumbprint
The Founder's Trap
What does this mean?
10-year flat revenue, below-market executive comp, and a small board. The organization survives purely on the sweat equity of a founder, making it utterly un-transferable.
The Path Forward
The Dispersal
Forces succession planning and structural maturity. It requires raising capacity-building funds to decouple the organization's survival from the founder's personal sacrifice.
The Dispersal
Institutional Health Scores
5-yr trend: The Founder's Trap ↑
Overall
51
Score
Governance
58
Score
Financial
40
Score
Program
60
Score
Title
-
Institutions
-
Avg Revenue
-
Risk Profile
Representative Institutions
Institutional Epochs
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Financial Era
Governance Era
Trajectory Era
Founders Trap
Historical Performance
| Year | Revenue | Top Comp | Comp % Rev | Score | Phase Label | Outlook | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Hidden | Hidden | — | — | Unknown | — | |
| 2024 | Hidden | Hidden | 2.2% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2023 | — | — | 2.9% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2022 | — | — | 1.9% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2021 | — | — | 12.3% | 46 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2020 | — | — | 3.4% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2019 | — | — | 2.2% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2018 | — | — | 2.4% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2017 | — | — | 2.7% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2016 | — | — | 1.9% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2015 | — | — | 2.7% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2014 | — | — | 1.2% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2013 | — | — | 2.0% | 45 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2012 | — | — | 3.0% | 41 | Fragile | Stable Watch |
Officer compensation history
Tax year 2025
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHAD WHITTINGTON | Executive Director | Hidden | ||
| ANTHONY MCDONALD | Executive Director | Hidden | ||
| LAKISHA JORDAN | Board President | — | ||
| WILLIAM MCANDREW | Board President | — | ||
| MICHAEL BAILEY | Treasurer | — | ||
| RUBY MELTON | Secretary | — | ||
| ANDREW ALDEN | Board Member | — | ||
| BRIAN AMERO | Board Member | — | ||
| SHAY ATLURU | Board Member | — | ||
| MEDRIA BLUE-ELLIS | Board Member | — | ||
| LISA BRANDES | Board Member | — | ||
| DIANE BROWN | Board Member | — | ||
| MARY ELLEN CODY | Board Member | — | ||
| JACQUELYN COURTMANCHE | Board Member | — | ||
| KAREN CRANE | Board Member | — | ||
| JUSTIN ELICKER | EX-OFFICIO | — | ||
| MAKANA ELLIS | Board Member | — | ||
| JOHN EMRA | Board Member | — | ||
| DR DOLORES GARCIA-BLOCKER | Board Member | — | ||
| ELIZABETH HERLIHY | Board Member | — | ||
| KARAINE HOLNESS | Board Member | — | ||
| JEFF L HUBBARD | Board Member | — | ||
| ADRIANE JEFFERSON | EX-OFFICIO | — | ||
| CHRISTOPHER LIDDY | Board Member | — | ||
| AMY MIGLIORE | Board Member | — | ||
| STEPHEN MORONEY | Board Member | — | ||
| DENISE MORRIS | Board Member | — | ||
| STEFAN PETRELLA | Board Member | — | ||
| JESSE PHILLIPS | Board Member | — | ||
| ERIK SCARANUZZO | Board Member | — | ||
| MICHAEL SCHOEDINGER | EX-OFFICIO | — | ||
| LEONARDO SUZIO | Board Member | — | ||
| FALLON THOMAS | Board Member | — | ||
| ALEXANDER CLARK | Board Member | — | ||
| PATRICIA MELTON | Board Member | — | ||
| FRANKLYN REYNOLDS | Board Member | — |
Tax year 2023
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHAD WHITTINGTON | Executive Director | Hidden | ||
| ANTHONY MCDONALD | V.P./EXECUTIVE DIR. | Hidden | ||
| RUBY H MELTON | Board President | — | ||
| LAKISHA JORDAN | Board President | — | ||
| MICHAEL BAILEY | Treasurer | — | ||
| MATTHEW SUSMAN | Secretary | — | ||
| ANDREW F ALDEN | Board Member | — | ||
| BRIAN J AMERO | Board Member | — | ||
| SHAY ATLURU | Board Member | — | ||
| MEDRIA BLUE-ELLIS | Board Member | — | ||
| LISA CO BRANDES | Board Member | — | ||
| DIANE X BROWN | Board Member | — | ||
| ALEXANDER CLARK | Board Member | — | ||
| MARY ELLEN CODY | Board Member | — | ||
| JACQUELYN COURTMANCHE | Board Member | — | ||
| KAREN CRANE | Board Member | — | ||
| JUSTIN ELICKER | EX-OFFICIO | — | ||
| JOHN R EMRA | Board Member | — | ||
| DR DOLORES GARCIA-BLOCKER | Board Member | — | ||
| STEPHANIE GREEN | EX-OFFICIO (BEGAN 9-2022) | — | ||
| RICHARD HELMREICH | EX-OFFICIO (TERM 9-2022) | — | ||
| ELIZABETH HERLIHY | Board Member | — | ||
| KARAINE HOLNESS | Board Member | — | ||
| JEFF L HUBBARD | Board Member | — | ||
| ADRIANE JEFFERSON | EX-OFFICIO | — | ||
| MICHAEL LOFTUS | Board Member | — | ||
| WILLIAM MCANDREW | Board Member | — | ||
| PATRICIA MELTON | Board Member | — | ||
| AMY MIGLIORE | Board Member | — | ||
| DENISE D MORRIS | Board Member | — | ||
| JESSE PHILLIPS | Board Member | — | ||
| FRANKLYN D REYNOLDS | Board Member | — | ||
| ERIK SCARANUZZO | Board Member | — | ||
| LEONARDO H SUZIO | Board Member | — | ||
| FALLON THOMAS | Board Member | — |
Tax year 2021
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHAD WHITTINGTON | Executive Director | Hidden | ||
| JOHN FISHER | V.P./EXECUTIVE DIR. (THRU 4/21) | Hidden | ||
| LEONARDO H SUZIO | Board President | — | ||
| RUBY H MELTON | Board President | — | ||
| MICHAEL BAILEY | Treasurer | — | ||
| MATTHEW SUSMAN | Secretary | — | ||
| ANDREW F ALDEN | Board Member | — | ||
| SHAY ATLURU | Board Member | — | ||
| DIANE X BROWN | Board Member | — | ||
| ALEXANDER CLARK | Board Member | — | ||
| FRANCES CLARK | Board Member | — | ||
| JACQUELYN COURTMANCHE | Board Member | — | ||
| JOHN R EMRA | Board Member | — | ||
| DR DOLORES GARCIA-BLOCKER | Board Member | — | ||
| RICHARD HELMREICH | Board Member | — | ||
| ELIZABETH HERLIHY | Board Member | — | ||
| JEFF HUBBARD | Board Member | — | ||
| LAKISHA JORDAN | Board Member | — | ||
| MICHAEL LOFTUS | Board Member | — | ||
| WILLIAM MCANDREW | Board Member | — | ||
| PATRICIA MELTON | Board Member | — | ||
| AMY MIGLIORE | Board Member | — | ||
| FRANKLYN D REYNOLDS | Board Member | — | ||
| ERIK SCARANUZZO | Board Member | — | ||
| KARAINE SMITH-HOLNESS | Board Member | — | ||
| MAYOR JUSTIN ELICKER | EX-OFFICIO | — | ||
| ADRIANE JEFFERSON | EX-OFFICIO | — | ||
| ANTHONY MCDONALD | V.P./EXECUTIVE DIR. (FROM 3/21) | — |
Officer contact details, exact compensation figures, and active litigation are available to verified members.
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Score breakdown
Score breakdown
Financial resilience
40 / 100
weight 40%
Governance risk
58 / 100
weight 40%
Program scale
60 / 100
weight 20%
Overall
51 / 100
Developing
The three components combine into a single 0–100 score weighted as shown. Full methodology →
Peer comparison
Compared to 15 other orgs in CT with NTEE prefix A1.
Most-divergent component: program score sits 43 points above the peer median (60 vs. 17).
5-year trend: The Founder's Trap
10-year flat revenue, below-market executive comp, and a small board. The organization survives purely on the sweat equity of a founder, making it utterly un-transferable.
What's driving this score
- Comp-to-revenue ratio of 2.2% sits within the sector's healthy band (18–22%).
What would change this score
No specific high-impact levers identified — this org's score is balanced across components.
Improving governance is a board decision. These are the levers.